By Ellie Patrick & The Magician
Part 2: The Dragon
The Magician narrates:
A long time ago, when this world was new, and I was much younger, I was travelling through a desert. I did not know how long I had traveled, or where I was headed, all I knew was that I felt the same pull you spoke of which brought you here. Like you, I could not remember how I got there, though it did not seem like it was intentional, as I had no such provisions that would be necessary for a journey such as the one I had found myself on. All I had was a cloak and a staff.
Eventually, I succumbed to the heat and the hunger. I collapsed and my chest rattled as I gasped out my last, dry breath. I do not know how long I lay dead upon the sand, sandstorms stripping away my flesh and the relentless sun baking my bare bones. Sometime later, however, it began to rain, and as my dry bones became wet again, life returned to me, and I continued to drag my skeletal form through the desert, still drawn by the same mysterious pull.
Once my bones were dried by the sun again, life left me once again. And so this continued for many years; I was revived each time it rained, I traveled as far as I could, and I perished each time my bones dried. However, though my body died each time, my mind never stopped. I had so long to think, and inevitably, my thoughts eventually turned to anger at the apparent hell I had found myself in. But whenever I slipped too far into this anger, I was presented with a vision of a mighty dragon, deep crimson in color, glaring at me out of the darkness.
Eventually, there was a long rainstorm, which let me travel a great distance. After a while, I spotted an oasis as I crested a sand dune. Even from a distance, I could tell the water was magical, and I was certain that if I could reach it, it would break the cycle I was in. However, as I drew near, I could see the dragon from my visions wrapped around it, blocking access to the water. Upon seeing it, it felt as if all the anger was siphoned away from me.
“Weary traveler,” the dragon said, in a low, guttural voice, “What is it that you seek?”
Being but a skeleton, I could not find my voice, so instead I just pointed past the dragon, at the water beyond.
The dragon laughed in contempt, “And why should I permit you to access my water?”
I could feel my anger growing, and once again felt it get siphoned away.
“Oh? Did I make you angry? I am the god of anger, and your anger makes me strong.”
Thinking for a moment, I considered what it had said. I let go of all the anger tied to what I had experienced in the desert thus far and found an inner peace that I had never felt before. I walked toward it, and it let me through without another word. I stepped into the pool, and wherever I touched the water, my flesh grew back, and when I was fully submerged, I was back as I had been before my journey. I drank from the pool, the first water I’d consumed in many years.
Through all of this, I still felt that pull, so I thanked the dragon, and continued on my journey.
Ellie narrates:
At this moment, my focus was released from the crystal ball. I looked around and noticed a cup of tea had appeared on the table in front of me. I sipped it, and it was at the perfect temperature, and it was my favorite kind of tea. I wondered how long it had been there. As I sat there thinking about this, the crystal ball disappeared, and the hands receded back into the darkness.
“That seems like a good stopping point for the moment. Finish your tea, explore the shop, maybe go back home for a bit. Come back when you’re ready to continue the story," said the Magician
I finished my tea, and as I got up, I was standing outside the shop again. I didn’t know how long I had been in there, but it was dark outside now. I went back to the house, contemplating what had just happened.